Senior Engineering Manager (Solar, BESS & Grid Integration)

Employment Type: Full-Time

FSLA: Salary/Exempt

Division: Arch Energy

Department: Arch Energy

Reports to: VP of Power and Energy

Supervisory Duties: Yes

Salary Range: $150,000 - $170,000

Arch Energy is seeking a hands-on engineering leader to guide utility-scale solar, battery energy storage, substation, and grid interconnection projects from pursuit through commercial operation. This role combines technical depth, practical EPC judgment, field engagement, and strong commercial awareness. The successful candidate will build repeatable engineering practices, lead external Engineers of Record (EORs), and help project teams deliver safe, constructible, reliable, and contract-compliant facilities.

Responsibilities / Essential Functions

• Direct technical strategy and design delivery from site diligence, basis of design, and bid development through 30/60/90% reviews, Issued for Construction (IFC) design packages, construction support, commissioning, and turnover.

• Lead integration of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), including battery enclosures, Power Conversion Systems (PCS), medium-voltage (MV) skids, Battery Management Systems (BMS), Energy Management Systems (EMS), Power Plant Controllers (PPC), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, fire and life safety systems, controls, networking, warranties, and performance guarantees.

• Oversee physical and Protection and Control (P&C) scope for collector substations, switching stations, and generation tie lines (gen-ties), including Air-Insulated Switchgear (AIS), Gas-Insulated Switchgear (GIS), transformers, grounding, control buildings, protection schemes, metering, telecommunications, Remote Terminal Units (RTU), SCADA, testing, and energization.

• Lead multidisciplinary reviews of civil, geotechnical, structural, electrical, controls, communications, fire protection, site logistics, temporary works, quantities, interfaces, and constructability.

• Develop scopes, fees, schedules, deliverables, design responsibility matrices, and interface registers for EORs, utilities, owner engineers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and specialty consultants.

• Partner with estimating, procurement, operations, quality, and commissioning teams to validate design maturity, quantities, assumptions, exclusions, contingencies, long-lead strategies, release priorities, and technical risk.

• Support business development through site walks, proposals, and client presentations. Translate technical findings into clear recommendations, qualifications, and project development opportunities.

• Create design criteria, standard details, specifications, review checklists, preferred-product strategies, and lessons learned. Optimize total installed cost without compromising safety, reliability, performance, maintainability, warranty, or compliance.

• Maintain a strong site presence through investigations, first-work inspections, QA/QC and constructability walkthroughs, pre-energization reviews, commissioning-readiness assessments, and punch-list creation and closure.

• Support Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), relay and controls testing, point-to-point checks, utility telemetry, integrated systems testing, and performance verification.

• Translate EPC agreements, interconnection requirements, owner specifications, permits, OEM requirements, and codes into executable project requirements.

• Lead technical negotiations involving scope, deviations, warranties, guarantees, change management, and design-risk allocation.

Key Skills

• Engineering leadership across utility-scale solar, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), substations, and grid interconnection projects.

• Deep knowledge of BESS integration, including PCS, BMS, EMS, PPC, SCADA, controls, networking, commissioning, warranties, and performance guarantees.

• Strong understanding of substation design, Protection and Control (P&C), relays, metering, telecommunications, SCADA, RTUs, grounding, testing, and energization.

• Ability to identify scope gaps, constructability issues, interface risks, and technical compliance concerns before construction.

• Experience translating complex technical requirements into practical, executable solutions.

• Strong contract review, negotiation, risk management, and stakeholder management skills.

• Working knowledge of utility communication and control systems, including Human Machine Interface (HMI), Distributed Network Protocol (DNP3), Modbus, and Inter-Control Center Communications Protocol (ICCP).

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills with owners, utilities, EORs, OEMs, preconstruction teams, and field operations.

Required Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Structural, or related Engineering; Electrical Engineering preferred.

• 10+ years of progressive engineering and EPC delivery experience in utility-scale solar, BESS, substations, transmission/interconnection, or related power infrastructure.

• At least five years leading multidisciplinary engineering teams and external EORs across multiple concurrent pursuits and projects.

• Demonstrated responsibility for projects from feasibility and bid phase through IFC, construction, energization, commissioning, performance testing, and turnover.

• Hands-on experience supporting site investigations, QA/QC walkthroughs, commissioning-readiness reviews, and project closeout activities.

• Strong technical and contractual negotiation experience involving EPC contracts, engineering scopes, equipment agreements, specifications, warranties, performance guarantees, and change management.

• Working knowledge of applicable utility and Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) requirements, as well as the National Electrical Code (NEC), National Electrical Safety Code (NESC), NFPA 70E, NFPA 855, UL 9540/9540A, IEEE, International Building Code (IBC), and ASCE 7.

• Proficiency with Microsoft 365, Procore or comparable platforms, Bluebeam, and AutoCAD review workflows; familiarity with PVsyst, PVcase, or similar tools.

• Professional Engineer (PE) license preferred.

• Experience with utility-scale EPC contractors, Independent Power Producers (IPPs), utilities, OEMs, or multidisciplinary engineering firms preferred.

• Experience with 100 MW+ solar facilities, 100 MW / 400 MWh+ BESS projects, and 115-345 kV substations or switching stations preferred.

• Experience in ISO New England (ISO-NE), New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), PJM Interconnection (PJM), or similar utility markets preferred.